Creative Work Database

Listing of creative work related to Singapore.

Our new Creative Work database is a repository for literary and dramatic works related to Singapore which are written by FASS Faculty and Students, past and present. The contents of this work-in-progress call on the theories and techniques taught and researched at FASS. Some of the creative work links to a sample of the original text. Research is also ongoing and the database will grow as we continue to update it. Items with the symbol “i” indicate that an abstract is available.

To search more effectively, please use the MLA or APA citation style which uses the author’s last name and initials.

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This story chronicles the life of Gloria as a maid in Singapore. The secondary focus of this story is her female employer. As the story progresses, we learn about the dynamics of their relationship as employer and employee. After two years, Gloria is set to return to her home country. However, a foolish mistake cost her her return and much more.

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Ping, the daughter of Chinatown's Pipa Queen, loves Weng, the voice of the people, but family circumstances drive them apart. Ping is forced to leave suddenly for the USA, while Weng is sent to prison for his part in local protests.
Many years later, Ping returns to a country transformed by prosperity. Gone are the boatmen and hawkers who once lived along the river. In their place, rise luminous glass and steel towers proclaiming the power of the city state. Can Ping face her former lover and reveal the secret that has separated them for over 30 years?
A beautifully written exploration of identity, love and loss, set against the social upheaval created by the rise of Singapore.

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This book deals with some not-so-ordinary subject matters. It is about everyday people tackling issues that are often seen as taboo. It also sheds a little light on those leading marginalised lifestyles. The use of Singlish in some parts of the book adds a little local flavour.

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In this novel, Marie's Gang of Four reject the daily struggle for economic prosperity and choose instead to involve themselves with social issues in society, thus getting entrapped in a series of events that eventually spiral out of their control.

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Through the exploration of a single day in the life of Suwen, this novel explores Singapore's rich and complex history, the hopes and dreams of early immigrants and how Singapore as a society has evolved through time.

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Time is said to be God’s way of preventing everything from happening simultaneously. Alwyn wakes up one morning to find his wife, Caryl, missing. A poignant take on the intangible and metaphysical nature of time.
11 mins
* Selected for screening in the Substation's Young Guns International Student Film Festival in June 2007
* Selected for screening in Celebrate Drama 2008 in August 2008

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Jasmine is reunited with ex-boyfriend Ben after suddenly disappearing from school years ago, suddenly appearing at his apartment one night with her luggage and her sister's baby. Their relationship quickly deteriorates when Ben suspects Jasmine's absence previously had to do with a terrible vice...
10 mins
Accolades:
* Crack was short-listed as the top 5 films in the open category of Canon DV Fest 2006
* Selected to screen at First Takes 2006 at the Substation

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The sequel to The Law of Second Marriages, the best-selling and critically acclaimed poetry book by Christine. With "terrifying sparseness and intensity", as Cyril Wong observes, Christine threads together stories of the Separation between Singapore and Malaysia with the separation between her parents. Her searing vision, ambitious and intimate, opens up emotional spaces in unlikely places.

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In this heartfelt poem about a rickshaw-runner who has led a hard life, Lim describes the runner's southward migration from Macau in search of a better future. Eventually settling in Pagoda Street within Singapore's Chinatown, life remained difficult for the runner.

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While putting on an expensive mascara instead of a cheap one, the poet reflects on her father and his missed opportunities. He had a hard life growing up, married too young, and was unable to enjoy his family due to work. Hence the poet resolves never to save precious things for later, but to enjoy them now.